The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1887-08-18

tering you, where is your gratitudea
Where is your morning and evening
prayers Where is your consecrated Invest
say to you, as Daniel said to Belshazzar:
The God in whose hand thy breath is, and all
thy way, thou has not glorifed.
II you treated any body as badly as
you have treated God, you would have
made five hundred apologies-yea, your
whole life would have been an apology.
Three times a day you have been seated
at Gods table. Spring, summer, autumn
and winter he has appropriately appar-
eled you. Your health from him, your
companion from him, your children from
him, your home from him; all the bright
surroundings of your life from him. o,
man, what dost thou with that hard heart!
Canst thou not feel one throb of graft
tude toward the God that made you, and
the Christ who came to redeem you, an d
the Holy Ghost who has all these years
been importuning yous If you could sit
down five minutes under the tree of
Saviour's martyrdom and feel His warm
life trickling on YOUR forehead, and
cheek, and hands, methinks you would
get some appreciation of what you owe
to crucifled Jesus
Heart Of stone, relent, relent,
Touched by Jesus cross subdued;
See his body, mangled, rent,
Covered with a gore of blood.
Sinful soul, what hast thou donef
Crucifed the Eternal Son.
Jacob, with good deal of tug and
push, took the stone from the wells
mouth, so that the flocks might be
watered. And 1 would that this morning
my word, blessed of God, might remove
the hindrances to your getting up to the
Gospel we'll Yea, take it for granted
that the work IS done, and now, like ORR
entail shepherds, proceed to water the
sheep.
Come, all We thirsty You have an un-
defined longing in your soul You tried
money making; that did not satisfy you.
You tried office under Govern ment; that
did not satisfy you. You tried pictures
and sculptures; but works of art did not
| satisfy you.
You are as much discontinued with this
life as the celebrated French author who
felt that he could not any longer endure
the misfortunes of the world, and who
said:
"At four o. clock this afternoon I shall
| put an end to my own existence. Mean
| time, must toll on up to that time for
the sustenance of my family"
| Aud he wrote on his book until the
clock struck four. when he folded up his
manuscript, and, by his own hand, con-
| cluded his earthly life. There are men
in this house who are perfectly discon-
tented. Unhappy in the past, unhappy
to-day, to be unhappy forever, unless you
come to this Gospel we'll. This satisfies
the soul with high, deep. all-abs orbing
and eternal satisfaction. It comes and it
offers the most unfortunate man so
much Of this world as is best for him, and
throws all Heaven in the bargain. The
wealth of CrHsus. and all the Stewards.
and all the Barings, and all the Roths-
childs is only poor, miserable shilling
compared with the eternal fortunes that
Christ offers you to-day.
In the far East there was King who
used once year to get on scales, while
on the other side of the scales were
placed gold, and silver, and gems. In
deed, enough were placed the1 to balance
the King; then, at the close of the weigh
ing, all those treasures were thrown
among the populace. But Christ to-day
steps on one side the scales, and on the
other side are all the treasures of the
universe, and He says:
"Al are yours-al1 height, all depth
all length, all breadth, all eternity; al
are yours"
We don't appreciate the promises o.
the Gospel. When an aged clergyman
was dying-a man very eminent in the
by his side, and the aged man looked VI
and said to him:
''Can't you give me some comfort in MI
dying houra"
t'No," said the young man. 81 cam
talk to you on this subject; you know al
about it, and have known it so long"
= 'sWell," said the dying man, 'sjust re
cite to me some promises"
The young man thought moment, ant
he came to this promise:
The blood OF Jesus Christ cleanseth from al
sin.
And the old man clapped his hands, ant
, in his dying moment said:
"That's just the promise l have beef
waiting for:
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all
SIM
Oh, the warmth, the grandeur, the mag
nificence of the promises.
Come, also, to this Gospel we'll, all "
troubled. do not suppose you have es
capped. Compare your view of this life a
fifteen years of age with what your view
is oft at forty or sixty or seventy. VIVA
great contrast of OPT ion! Were yo
right then, or are you right nowa Tw
cups placed in your hands, the one
, sweet cup, the other sour cup A Gu
Of Joy and cup Of grief. Which has bee
the nearest to being full, and out of whic
have you the more frequently partaken
What different place Green wood is fro1
what it used to be. Once it was to you
grand city improvement, and yo1
went out on the pleasure excursion, an
you ran laughingly up the mound, an
you criticised in light way the epitapf
But since the day when you heard tn
bell toll at the gate when you went i
with the procession it is sad place, an
there is flood Of rushing memories tina
suffuse the eye and overmaster til
| heart.
Oh, you have had trouble, trouble
,, trouble. God only knows how much 70
have had. 1t is a wonder you have bee
able to live through it. 1t is a wonde
your nervous system has not been shar
tered, and your brain has not reel cd
Trouble, trouble. If could gather al
the griefs, Of all sorts, from this grea
audience, and could put them in one scroll
neither man nor angel could endure tn
recitation. Well, then, what do you want